By Manuel Mogato MANILA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has banned all foreign scientific research off the country's Pacific coast and told the navy to chase away unauthorized vessels, despite earlier allowing Chinese oceanographers to operate there.
There was no clear explanation for the about-face by the mercurial Duterte, who has cultivated … [Read more...]

MANILA, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Four people were killed and seven were missing after a Philippine ferry with 251 people on board capsized during bad weather on Thursday near the capital, Manila, disaster officials and a coastguard spokesman said.
Accidents involving boats sailing between the many islands of the Philippines are common. Vessels are often overloaded but the … [Read more...]

A Philippine ferry carrying 251 people capsized on Thursday off an island south of Manila, the capital, a coast guard spokesman said, amid a storm bringing heavy downpours.
By evening, 240 of the 251 people who were aboard the vessel, the Mercraft 3, were rescued, according to the Philippine Office of Civil Defense. Seven people were still unaccounted for. The ferry … [Read more...]

By Clarissa Batino and Ditas Lopez (Bloomberg) -- Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano promised a full investigation into the deaths of two Vietnamese fishermen during a weekend sea chase off the coast of Pangasinan province.
Philippine Navy personnel opened fire on a Vietnamese fishing vessel on Saturday after it collided with a navy patrol boat. The … [Read more...]

by Manuel Mogato (Reuters) Russian navy vessels arrived in the Philippines on Thursday for joint exercises as part of a drive for new security ties under President Rodrigo Duterte's revamped foreign policy of courting the traditional foes of Manila's top ally, Washington.
The guided-missile cruiser Varyag, accompanied by the fuel tanker ship, Pechenge, are on a four-day … [Read more...]